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January 17, 2013

Text Messages May Not Improve Adherence to HIV Medications

Contradicting previous research findings, a new study has found that motivational text messages do not improve adherence to HIV medications in resource-poor settings, according to SciDev.Net. Previous studies, in South Africa as well as the Kenyan WelTel trial, came to opposite conclusions.

Publishing their findings in PLOS ONE, researchers recruited 200 HIV patients in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and split them randomly into two groups. One received weekly motivational texts reminding them to take their medications on schedule, and a control group did not. Both groups received antiretroviral counseling as well as intermittent home visits. Adherence was low across the board, and the researchers could find no appreciable difference between the intervention and the control group.

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